Creation and Destruction
by ShadesofChaos40
Summary: A massive multi-game cross-over. "A shrill cry sounded in the darkness. The time had come. It was time to remake creation anew." Includes:- Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Discworld, Halo, Super Smash Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog and many more.
1. Awakening from eternal sleep

Creation and Destruction: A X-overs Fanfiction

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Characters involved are the legal property of their respective owners, not me.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Awakening from an endless sleep.**

Narratives throughout time have held solid to one particular idea more than any other. Whilst certain narrative imperatives hold true, such as "any ancient master will either die in the arms of his favourite student or will turn evil and have to be struck down by his favourite student." Or "It's always the most pathetic child in school who will save everyone and earn the respect of his peers." One that is particularly latched onto by the people at Disney is "the underdogs _always_ win." However, this tale uses none of these as its basis although some have undoubtedly been used in it's making. Nor is this the full tale. The full tale would take too long for any one man to write and too long for anyone to read. Think of this tale, as more of a final chapter in one branch of an epic. There will be other final chapters along the road walked by this tale. And other tales will walk alongside it. Think of this story as one page of an atlas that spans all of eternity and is certainly too big to fit in your glove box. This one page will end, but the final book goes on, because after all, no story ever truly ends. Or does it?

"You don't have to be that big to start something tremendous." That is the fundamental rule that this story works upon.

The tale starts on a planet. While the occupants of this planet could probably tell you its name, for the sake of this story the name is unimportant. This planet is shared by two dominant species. The first is a collection of tall hairless apes known collectively as humans. The other is a collection of wide and wonderful species which go by many names individually, but collectively are called Pokemon. It is on the Pokemon that we will turn our eyes for, in the Viridian Forest, on the continent of Kanto, a female Rattata is just about to give birth. For the faint of heart among you, we will skip the intricate details of the birthing procedure and merely focus on the results. Five Rattata babies have been born, two female, and three male. This also is of little consequence. What is important, is the one difference that separates the second male from it's four siblings. For, whereas normal Rattata are purple in colour, this one has acquired a genetic mutation and its fur is, against all the odds, green. This is important as it means that this Rattata is now perfectly camouflaged against its home forest background. This birth marks the pinnacle of evolution for the Rattata species as a whole. In fact, it means that all the species on the planet have reached the pinnacle of their evolutionary plateau. And this one planet was the last to achieve such a state. Some may still mutate and for some species in the wider universe, this mutation may be beneficial for the species as a whole. But, in the opinions of those higher up, life has just hit the peak.

For the time has come to waken the two agents. Two creatures more powerful than gods. More powerful than anything. They existed when the universe was but a minute old, and they will exist when time and space themselves cease existing and once more become as naught. For you see, life has evolved far enough in the eyes of the governing forces. The universe has no more interesting variation to offer, not in their eyes. So, it's time to tear it all down and start over.

* * *

It is dark here. That is because light cannot exist here. Nothing can exist here. Not even time. That which lives in this pocket dimension will not age. There is no way to get out, but there is no way to get in either unless you're already inside. For this is what existed before the beginning. Before time sprang into existence this one point of singularity kept continuing as it always had done and always would do. Whatever may happen to time and space in between, there will always be the Time before the Beginning and the Time after the End. The perfect prison. This pocket's single occupant views it not as a prison though. He has never seen anything else. The Time before the Beginning is all he knows. When it was time for all to begin he worked his talent. Life sprang from his fingers and universes teeming with life opened unto him with the merest gesture. But, once it had all began, he remained in the Time before the Beginning as it is the only place where his power can be contained. He cannot create life here, however skilled he may be as there is no time to do it in. He is not evil, nor is he good. He just is. But, after the end, there must be a new beginning, and he will bring it forth as he has done countless times before. The circle ever repeats itself. But he will be there at the end. He must be there to see it unfold. If circumstances demand it he will even help to bring about the end. The circle must be maintained. The lives of millions of bacteria can end the lives of humans or other creatures. Life can take life. And if needs must, he will take all life away. His existence is known only to very few. Those who do know of him call him "The Master" but he gives himself no such title. He just does what he does, and when the time comes. He will begin his work anew.

The time is coming.

* * *

The agent of creation dwells in his singularity at the Time before the Beginning. Likewise, his opposite, the agent of destruction dwells in another singularity in the Time after the End. When the time comes, he will take the planets and galaxies away, to let the other agent create new ones in their stead. Even with his power of destruction, he cannot destroy this singularity which holds him. But, like the other, he views it not as a prison. But whereas the agent of creation must wait, this other, the agent of destruction will not wait. He will take an active role. It is what he was meant to do. The only way he knows. As before, he is not evil, nor good. He just is. He has destroyed existence many times before. And he's gotten very good at it. He will not destroy wantonly, nor quickly. There is always time. He has lived in a point without time for so long, he will savour the time that he is given to do his work. Like his brother, (And brother may be a word that can describe the relationship between the two agents) he is known only to a very few. Those who do know him feel compelled to give him a title also. They call him "The Crazy" He doesn't know why. He isn't even aware of it, and it wouldn't bother him even if he was. He's been called countless other names in the past. This is just one more added to the list. When the time comes, he will awaken like his brother and begin the work of eternity.

The time has come.

* * *

Deep in the singularity at the Time before the End, a tiny hole opens between it and reality. It is a point no larger than an atom but it is all he needs. The two agents are always separate in the intervening time. But for this, the latest Apocalypse, they will need to reunite. Only one key exists to the Time before the Beginning and the Crazy holds it. Rousing from the slumber that has lasted both for eternity, and also only a second, the agent of destruction turns and lets loose one shrill cry. A sound that cannot be comprehended by mortal minds but it spreads across time, space and realities faster than thought. It hits the Time before the Beginning with the force of ages and shatters it like a billion pieces of glass. The Master stirs and heeds the call. The two share a conversation that spans billions of light-years and billions of years. They will proceed as they have always done before. They will meet at the centre. At the point from which all life comes. Even _they_ sprang from it in ages past. It is the only thing that exists that is older than they.

The Crystal.

The cry sped across time and space faster than light. It passed through all known worlds. Only a few highly skilled individuals picked it up, and even fewer knew what it meant, or what that cry heralded. Those who did not know felt shaken to their cores.

* * *

In the deepest corner of the Cerulean Cave, Mewtwo sat. He had not moved for years, so intent was he on his meditation. His psychic powers knew no equal on his world as he had sat, as still as a statue for over fifteen years. The few foolish Golbat who had dared attack him in his secluded chambers had paid dearly for their stupidity. Without even a gesture Mewtwo was able to rend them limb from limb as he would allow none to interfere in his training; and the other wild Pokemon had been clever enough to quickly learn to steer clear of the nameless terror that dwelt in the deepest cave. His heart beat less than once a day but his brain fired almost constantly. He was one of the few that were able to pick up the cry and upon receiving it, Mewtwo opened his eyes. It took him many minutes to get used to seeing with physical sight once more but he would bear it in order to better understand this new cry. Mewtwo was the cleverest being on the planet with one exception, but he did not know what he had sensed. And it scared him.

* * *

In the invisible pathways that lie between dimensions and timelines, few may travel safely. Of these travellers, one of them stands out for he is the only one who could know this cry for what it truly means and it is fortunate that he has intercepted the cry. Although he does not understand it, his ship does.

"So! Where to now?" The Doctor grinned pulling manically on a lever attached to the dashboard of the TARDIS. He pulled it a bit too vigorously and it snapped. It sent him crashing to the floor and the lever itself sailed through the air into the lap of his latest companion. Donna took the lever and handed it back to the Doctor who was picking himself off the floor. The Doctor took it and began reattaching it.

"Might need to go to a hardware store actually," the Doctor groaned trying to attach the lever with the sonic screwdriver but failing. He frowned for a second but quickly brightened up. The effect was instant, like flicking a switch. "Yeah! Interstellar hardware! How about that? It'd be great." Donna frowned and the Doctor's face fell. "Not so great?"

"You could show me all of space and time, and you want to take me to a hardware store?" Donna said firmly. The Doctor grinned again.

"Sure! Why not? Great place interstellar hardware stores. You never know what you could find. They've got everything. Edible paintbrushes, wallpaper that changes colour every time you look at it. I mean it's a bit weird at first but once you get used to it it's pretty neat. They've even got flat-pack furniture. Your boys back in IKEA didn't know what a breakthrough they'd had." And that was that. The Doctor descended into a stream of random babble about interstellar hardware and Donna couldn't help but smile and laugh at the situation. The Doctor grinned again and moved around to the computer to input the co-ordinates.

And then he noticed the little red light that had turned on over the main screen.

"Um, we may need to postpone that trip to the hardware store," he said slowly. "We might have a little bit of a problem."

* * *

In the ancient kingdom of Hyrule, the Princess Zelda awoke from a fitful sleep. Her dreams had been haunted again, and by now the princess had long since learned to trust her prophetic dreams. Hyrule had burned. It's people had been mercilessly slaughtered and all the while, two great shapes had hung in the sky, raining death onto her followers. She had not seen herself, or Link, but she knew that the two of them had to have been dead. Sweating, Zelda reached out and grabbed the rope by her bed that would summon her guardian. In two minutes, Impa flung open the doors and had rushed to the bed to comfort her princess.

"What is it my lady? Another nightmare?" Zelda could only nod as she cried into her guardian's shoulder. "What do you wish me to do?" Zelda took a few shuddering breaths and seemed to calm down.

"Find Link. I need to tell him. Something must be done." Impa nodded and motioned for the two guards stationed outside the door to go and find scouts. She turned back to Zelda and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Was it Ganondorf again my lady?" Zelda shook her head.

"No. Something much, much worse."

* * *

In space, sound does not travel. But, floating on a charred piece of an ancient spacecraft, a creature arose from it's hibernation to listen to the cry. It was still grievously wounded but it heard the call and knew what it heralded. It's hive mind had assimilated much information over the creature's lifespan and this call was known to it.

"Now is time to face our fears, for the world we know is ending.

As cities burn, and soldiers fall, dead souls will need the mending"

The creature laughed with a guttural chuckle that died instantly in the vacuum of space. It turned to look at the stars, seeing them in a new light after hearing the cry.

"I shall send this message to both of you. But, will you do anything about it? Or will you both watch your worlds burn?" The creature laughed again as it continued to drift.

* * *

He was drifting alone in a warm sea. All around the sky flashed with green and pink swirls. Dusty brown clouds filled most of his vision. He sighed as the warm water covered him. If this was death, then it wasn't so bad. He closed his eyes. And allowed himself to drift.

"Wake up." It wasn't shouted. But he opened his eyes anyway. He'd recognised the voice and knew who he'd see. The man before him was wearing a suitably disapproving expression and glared at him over the top of his sunglasses.

"What do you want Auron?" Tidus asked sitting up. "It's enough you had to keep bugging me while I was alive. Can't you just leave well enough alone now I'm dead?" Auron smiled slightly and shrugged.

"You aren't dead. You were never alive. Come. The Fayth need us." Tidus sat up in the water. Or, at least, what felt like water.

"Them? What do they want? They already used me enough. Whatever's going on, count me out." Tidus crossed his arms and glared at Auron, who simply bent down, grabbed Tidus around the waist and started walking off.

"Darkness is coming. Yuna and the others will not be able to fight it on their own. They will need our help. Come." Auron said plainly. Tidus shook him off and stood up.

"Alright, alright! I'll come. But only to help Yuna, Understand?" Auron chuckled.

"Fine."

* * *

NOW, I PUT THIS PIECE HERE CORRECT?

The scrawny man nodded and a skeletal hand placed the final jigsaw piece into its correct slot. The picture was a fairly tasteful view of a seaside resort. Death looked at the picture and then turned to Albert.

AND NOW WHAT? Albert looked nonplussed for a moment before saying.

"Well, now you break up the picture and put it back in the box master." He indicated the jigsaw box helpfully.

WHY? Death asked.

"Well, cause you've finished the puzzle. Well done by the way." He added as an afterthought. Death looked impassively with blue eyes like supernovas at the jigsaw.

BUT IF I AM JUST GOING TO BREAK IT UP, WHY DID I PUT IT TOGETHER IN THE FIRST PLACE?

"Well, for the fun of it master. The challenge, especially with the sky." Death hadn't had any trouble with the sky. He'd done the entire 1000 piece puzzle in two minutes only hampered by the fact that his hands couldn't move faster. "Well, I guess not in your case sir." Albert conceded.

ALAS, IT APPEARS THAT…Death paused looking for the right word before settling on PUZZLES ARE JUST ONE MORE THING THAT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND ALBERT.

Then the cry arrived. Death's realm was not bound by the laws of physics and time and space didn't apply. As a result, the cry could very faintly be seen as a tiny line of rippling haze, like you see on a hot road, moving through the air. Death snatched it with one bony hand and held it to where his ear would be. After he had listened, he let it go and gave a small sigh.

SADDLE UP BINKY ALBERT. THIS MAY BE AN ALL-NIGHTER. Albert nodded and went to fetch the nosebag. When he reached the door he turned around.

"Er? Plague is it master?" he asked as he lifted the bag off the door.

NO Death said, Albert nodded and unlocked the door.

IT'S ARMAGEDDON. Albert paused for a second.

"Right. I won't wait up then."

* * *

Thanks very much for reading the first part of the story. Do not fret if you haven't seen your favourite series represented in this opening part. This is nowhere near the whole cast of the story. If you have any suggestions as to who you'd like to see in the story, drop me a line in your review but I will only use the suggestions that I feel I can write about. Also a special prize to anyone who can identify the creature mentioned in section 7. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.


	2. A heart of purest crystal

Creation and Destruction: A X-overs Fanfiction

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Characters involved are the legal property of their respective owners, not me.

* * *

**Chapter 2: A heart of purest crystal**

Blaze the cat leapt backwards allowing the bright azure sphere of energy to sail over her head and crash into the rock overhang behind her. She laughed slightly and turned to her opponent.

"Powerful, but you're still not accurate enough Lucario." She sneered. Lucario growled and vanished. Suddenly he was on her, reappearing out of the extremespeed attack like lightning. Blaze gasped slightly before bringing her sword to bear. Lucario's fists flew in a constant blur but Blaze's sword was faster allowing her to parry and counter every punch. Lucario feinted left and managed to hit Blaze in the chest with a Force Palm attack sending her flying backwards through the air. She landed on the ground with a loud thump and quickly righted herself, summoning fireballs from the air in order to pelt Lucario. With a brief smile, Lucario leapt upwards in order to begin summoning another Aura Sphere. Blaze readied herself for the attack and leapt, her sword cut straight through the orb followed by her leg swinging round to kick Lucario in the side of the head. Lucario fell through the air and barely had time to twist his body out of the way before Blaze fell on him like an avenging angel. Her sword skewered the ground causing a fountain of rocks and fire where it hit. Blaze tried to pull her sword out of the ground so that she could defend against Lucario's next attack.

The wave-guiding Pokemon ran straight at her faster than the human eye could follow. Blaze instinctively threw up a shield of flame and Lucario bounced off, recoiled by the force. Blaze ran over, lifting her sword above her head in order to stab Lucario but the Pokemon's legs thrust out catching her in the chest as Lucario sprang to his feet. Lucario grabbed her wrist and spun, throwing Blaze towards the ceiling. Rather than jumping after her, Lucario fired three Aura spheres in quick succession forcing Blaze to twist and parry all of them. Now that she was tiring, Lucario tensed his leg muscles and jumped after her.

He was ten feet into the air before another person slammed into him with the force of a train. The two collapsed to the ground in a tangled heap as Blaze landed lightly nearby. She kept her sword drawn and pointed it at the new arrival.

"Zack." She said, eyes narrowing. "This training exercise is between me and Lucario. Keep out." Zack Fair stood up and sheathed his Buster Sword.

"Sure Blaze. But trying telling that to the next Heartless invasion. They won't listen to you." He gestured to the enormous crystal behind her. "This close to the Heart of the Universes and you expect them to just wait while you kill them all off one at a time. Unlikely. This is the biggest prize for any evil doer out there, even Kingdom Hearts has nothing on the crystal." Zack said firmly standing over her and dwarfing her with his size.

"Skip the lecture," she growled. "I got told all this when I joined up. Fine, you want to fight so badly, then let's fight!" She swung her sword but Zack was gone. With inhuman speed he was behind her, slashing at her back. An aura sphere hit him in the face and made him stumble backwards. Lucario sped forward, hopped off of Blaze's head as she badly mistimed her swing and landed feet first on Zack's chest. Zack grinned and thrust forwards with his buster sword dislodging Lucario and missing Blaze's head by millimetres. Lucario flipped in the air, landed behind Blaze and charged up another Aura sphere. Without even looking Blaze fired a fireball behind her as she slashed and parried with Zack. The two spheres met in the air and detonated. The explosion knocked Lucario backwards and Blaze forwards past Zack's guard. She managed to kick him in the stomach and use him as a launching pad to fire herself at Lucario who was just picking himself up. Her sword swung around but Lucario managed to grab it in both of his hands.

Then Zack's Thundaga spell struck. The electricity coursed through both of them, amplified by the metal of Blaze's sword. Zack himself leapt forward, sword cleaving through the air in a wide arc, sending the two others flying away in heaps. Blaze picked herself up and ran back into the fray, calling upon all of her fire powers. Coating herself in flaming armour as she ran, she barrelled into Zack forcing him onto the defensive, Zack's strength lessened, his stamina sapped by the heat emitting from Blaze as she fought with renewed vigour. The two exchanged blows, both of them so focussed on the other, they momentarily forgot about Lucario.

Lucario finished powering up and fired his Aura Storm straight at the two warriors. Zack's mako-enchanced reflexes allowed him to just barely clear the blast radius, but Blaze was not so fortunate as she was caught by the entirety of the blast sending her crashing into the wall at the other end of the cave. She lay stunned for a moment, her armour having absorbed the majority of the blast but she managed to stagger to her feet. She managed to slowly get into a battle stance as Zack and Lucario fought each other. She raised her sword and charged once more, determined not to fall. But she stopped in her tracks as she saw a portal open at the base of the crystal. Zack and Lucario saw it too and immediately stopped fighting and ran over to the portal. It was jet black at the centre and tongues of purple mist wreathed it like flame. The trio ran over to it as a figure stumbled out. He was wearing a black cloak and his hood covered his entire face, but as he left the portal, he fell and the hood was cast back revealing a young man with wild spiky red hair.

"Axel!" Zack yelled, running to grab the man. Blaze bent down and picked up a small crystal that Axel had dropped. It was glowing bright red.

"Guys. Look." She said, holding the crystal out, Lucario saw it and his face darkened. Axel coughed slightly and opened his eyes.

"They're coming. The sensors picked them up. The awakening happened already. We missed it." He groaned sitting up. Zack stood up straight and took the crystal from Blaze.

"Then we know what we must do. We have to get things ready for them." He said gravely turning the crystal over in his hand.

"What?" Axel yelled jumping to his feet. "You do know what this means don't you? It's Armageddon Zack, the end of creation! And you're going to just sit here and let it happen?"

"That is our duty, Axel. By rights we should be dead. We have only been granted new life as the Crystal's guardians because we gave our lives only for the sake of another." He looked at each of them in turn.

"Silver." Blaze looked down at the floor as she was forced to remember her death. Sacrificing herself to protect the entire world from the threat of Iblis. Or at least, that's what she'd told herself over these years. In her heart, she knew that she'd only died to protect him. Silver. Even now in death she couldn't forget her best friend.

"Ash and Pikachu." Lucario looked away as he remembered his death. He had sacrificed himself, condemned himself to lie in crystal forever just to save a child that he had known for less than a week. The aura had been strong in Ash, he had no regrets about his sacrifice.

"Roxas." Axel glared at the ground and balled his fists as he remembered. He had killed himself to save Sora and Roxas. They had to defeat Xemnas and in order to do that, he had to die. He was just a Nobody, but he knew that the two of them had seen him as more than that by the end and it angered him that he had had no choice.

"Or even Cloud." Zack looked up at the crystal as he remembered the flight from Hojo's labs in Nibelheim. Remembered telling Cloud to run and remembered the gunshots. The pain, and then the rebirth. "That's why we have a duty. The crystal must be made ready. We mustn't break the cycle." He was cut off by the sound of laughing. He turned to Axel who was quietly chuckling.

"You just don't get it do you?" Axel laughed, "Yeah, we gave our lives to save those we loved. Then who are you to just stand there and say that we have to just sit here and watch them die. We gave our lives so that they could live and these agents are going to destroy everything. Including them. It's not even that you're suggesting we do nothing, you're suggesting we help them!"

"We can't break the cycle Axel!" Zack yelled, drawing his buster sword.

"Why Not?" Axel yelled back summoning his chakrams.

"If you try to warn Sora and his friends, what could they do? They can't beat these things. Nothing can. You'll just be giving them a false hope Axel. You'd need all the warriors in the universe to even stand a chance." Zack said sighing,

"If that's what it takes." Axel said in return. Zack's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"If that's what it takes. I've had it up to here with the damn cycle. Roxas has earned his peace. God knows he had to work hard enough for it. If there's any way to give him that peace, I'll take it, and you can't honestly say you wouldn't do the same for Cloud, or Silver, or Ash." Axel said banishing his chakrams.

"It would be hard Axel. You wouldn't have the time." Lucario said folding his arms

"We're crystal guardians remember," Axel grinned pointing to his chest, "Time doesn't apply to us. Come on, what have we got to lose? Our lives? We're already dead. There's four of us and only two of them. We could gather allies. We can travel the ways between the worlds, build up an army if we have to. I let Roxas down once before, letting Ansem take him and stuff him in that digital town. I'm not going to let him down again." He stuck out a hand. "Who's with me?"

Blaze walked up and laid her hand on top of his. "I would fight any foe to protect Silver and that includes these agents if I must."

"I will aid you." Lucario said, walking forward and placing his paw on Blaze's "Life is too short at the best of times, we must give them a chance to enjoy what they have earned." Axel turned to Zack and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't like this." Zack glared looking at the three of them, "The ancients placed their trust in us when they ordered us to guard the crystal. To go against them and try to kill the agents would be betraying all the trust they placed in us. But then again, Cloud has had to wait twenty three years for his peace. That's too long for anyone. He deserves his life. Why should he be killed just because he wasn't born earlier? Fine, I'm in." He laid his hand on top of Lucario's. "I only do this because I know that Aeris would do the same." Axel smiled gently and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright. We can do this." Axel flicked a hand and a portal opened behind him. "I'm heading to Destiny Islands, if we can find our allies that we knew in life first, we might have it a bit easier." He walked through the portal which closed behind him.

"I will head to Mobius," Blaze said. "It'll be nice to check up on Silver after all this time." She leapt in the air, did a triple somersault and disappeared in a flash of fire.

"I do not know if my friends still dwell in the Super Smash Brothers mansion," Lucario said turning away, "but it is as good a place to start as any." He moved one paw in a circle and a shimmering portal appeared in the air in front of him. With one last backwards look, he walked through the circle and vanished.

Zack walked outside of the crystal's cave, the air was warm and calm. It was also faintly green and ran in ripples around Zack. He raised a hand and watched the air flow round it. Then he moved to the edge of the platform, underneath the platform, a green river ran. The Lifestream. It was where he truly belonged and its tributaries ran far and wide, even to this place. It would take him to where he wanted to go.

"I'm coming Cloud, but so are they. I hope you'll be ready." He said to the sky. With a deep breath, Zack leapt into the lifestream.

* * *

When Zack had gone, the chamber that housed the crystal lay silent for a moment. Then the air began to shimmer and grey cloak materialised, another soon joined it, and another.

This is disturbing. One of cloaks seemed to say but the words were not said out loud, it was as if reality had changed so that the cloak had always said the words.

Quite. Another one agreed. We did not predict guardian intervention for at least another five hundred cycles.

No we did not. Said a third. This complicates matters.

We do not see why it should. Another cloak said. The matter of the cycle is the only one in which we may not interfere. Not until the end.

It may come to that if these four succeed. Said the first cloak, but it may have been the second. We will honour our agreement when the time comes.

Of course. Said another cloak. We always honour our agreements.

It was only a brief exchange, but there was untold weight behind the words shared in that cave. With all said and done, the cloaks began to fade, one by one, until it was as if they had never been there at all.

* * *

Thanks for reading the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and will come back for part three. Don't forget to R+R.

P.S. In the last section, if it is confusing when the cloaks are speaking or not, blame Terry Pratchett. Auditors tend to speak/not speak/ you know what I mean in that manner.


	3. Ripples in a larger Pond

Creation and Destruction: A X-overs Fanfiction

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Characters involved are the legal property of their respective owners, not me.

Chapter 3: Ripples in a larger Pond

* * *

Zidane Tribal tensed his legs and cursed silently to himself as he leapt from ledge to ledge on the outside of Alexandria Castle. He had left the ceremonial robe and crown on the ledge below him but he kept the signet ring on his finger. In all honesty he really shouldn't have left the banquet but now that Dagger had started to realize exactly how much the other nobles from the Mist Continent hated him she was far more understanding about his unexpected departures. His leaving this time wasn't going to win him any points with the other delegates, but nothing ever did. He was just some lowly street trash that had somehow stolen the Princess' heart. Zidane smiled to himself at that analogy. He only felt sorry for Dagger. She'd have to remain back in the hall and explain why the new king of Alexandria hadn't bothered to show up. The night was cold and his fingers were going numb, losing their grip. He'd almost fallen twice now from frozen fingers. But it would be worth it when he finally reached the top. It was a clear night and Zidane guessed that he'd be able to see all the way to Burmecia tonight. He risked a quick look over his shoulder at the moons. One was at the peak of it's orbit and bathed the entire castle in a pale white light, but the other one, which was just setting glowed a deep crimson, like the fires of hell. Zidane figured that there were less than twenty people on the planet who actually knew the truth behind the red moon. That it's real name was Terra and it had come too close to assimilating their planet for comfort. Few knew that the moon was red, not by nature but because the fires of destruction ignited in Kuja's fury had never abated, and probably never would.

Zidane blew on his hands to warm them and made the final leap. He grabbed the spire and scaled it like a spider. Now, crouched at the very top of the castle, Zidane could see the entire continent. Or at least, he should have been able to. The night had been clear before, but now he was in the cloud layer. He frowned slightly, the castle looked a lot smaller from the ground, and he'd never hit cloud layer on his other excursions, not even on overcast days. Brow creased, Zidane reached out a hand and snatched a handful of cloud. It trailed out from his fingertips as he brought it back to his face. He opened his hand and let the cloud float away. He laughed, sitting in the heavens and looking around at the sleeping city below. The clouds were moving in slightly and Zidane accidentally inhaled a mouthful of cloud. He doubled up for a second in a racking cough that threatened to dislodge him from his perch. But the sensation passed and he sat up straight and looked at the moon.

He screamed.

The moon was getting bigger and bigger. It was falling! It was going to hit Gaia. Zidane leapt up and almost fell off the spire, catching himself at the last second. The moon was seriously close now, falling faster. Zidane could make out the individual flames on the planet-wide fire of Terra and there, standing in the middle of the flames, arms spread wide like a martyr, was Kuja. Kuja was talking but he was still too far away to make out the words. Zidane stumbled in his haste to descend down the spire and lost his footing. The roof tiles rushed up to meet him and he closed his eyes. He opened them again when he didn't feel any pain and saw his tail wrapped around the spire, his reflexes didn't seem to be suffering too much with age. With a short sigh of relief Zidane looked up again. He blinked and stared. The moon wasn't falling. It was back in the sky where it had always been. There was no Kuja, everything was the same as it had always been. He'd been hallucinating. Then Zidane's eyes widened as the realisation hit him like a behemoth. He'd been sitting in the clouds and then he'd hallucinated that the moon was falling. Those hadn't been clouds.

The Mist was back.

* * *

"Gligar, use Wing Attack!" The bat Pokémon grinned and launched itself at its opponent. The Stunky was thrown backwards across the ground. It skidded along until it crashed into a tree where it lay still. Gligar gave a screech of victory and began flying in circle around its trainer's head. Ash reached up and scratched Gligar behind the ears as the young boy he'd been battling recalled his Pokémon and went searching for a Pokémon centre. Ash pulled out a Pokéball of his own, recalled Gligar and walked back to where Brock and Dawn had been setting up camp. The two looked up as Ash walked into the clearing as Brock ladled a fourth helping of stew into a bowl and set it down on the floor for Pikachu. The little yellow Pokemon squeaked in delight and hopped down from Ash's shoulder and began digging in. Ash sat down at the bench and started on his own bowl.

"Good battle?" Brock asked conversationally as he fed Pokémon pellets to Happiny. Ash nodded as he continued to wolf down the stew. Dawn gave him a brief look of disgust before turning back to her own bowl.

"Only decent challenge the kid had was his Bronzor." Ash said as he grabbed a roll from the mound in the centre.

"Don't get so complacent Ash." Dawn chided. "The next trainer we might could easily beat you. You weren't always as good as you are now." Ash nodded slightly, feeling slightly ashamed of himself now.

Pikachu ate his stew in silence wishing for a bottle of ketchup. It had been ages since the trio had been in a proper café with actual ketchup packets and the little yellow rodent was having withdrawal symptoms. For instance, he could swear he'd just seen Celebi over in the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Pikachu looked up and squinted at the bushes. No Celebi. Pikachu grinned to itself and climbed inside the bowl in order to lick up the scraps of stew at the bottom.

In a nearby tree, three fairly conspicuous individuals were observing the camp through binoculars. Two pairs were focussed on Pikachu. The third pair was focussed on the large vat of stew on the table.

"Ohhh." James groaned trying to banish the image of stew from his mind. And it was Brock's special recipe too. He stomach was rumbling with the volume of a freight train. Meowth threw his binoculars down and glared at James.

"Jimmy! Can't ya keep da volume down? Dey're gonna hear us!" Meowth growled brandishing his claws.

"I can't help it if we haven't had a decent meal in weeks. Couldn't we just spend our pay check on some decent food instead of another contraption for catching Pikachu?" James moaned holding his stomach. Jessie took her binoculars away from her eyes and glared at James.

"That is not the kind of attitude we need on the team if we ever want to catch Pikachu!" She yelled. All three of them were so caught up in yelling at each other, none of them noticed the tiny green Pokemon fly past the tree.

Ash was in the middle of giving Brock a blow-by-blow account of Gligar's performance in the last battle when an ear shattering roar broke his concentration. The three of them looked up just in time to see an enormous green serpent fly overhead. A tiny black dot sped past in its wake, also giving out a cry.

"Did I just imagine that, or was that Rayquaza and Darkrai?" Ash asked.

"If you're imagining it, I'm imagining it as well." Dawn replied still gazing into the sky.

A second cry from Rayquaza blasted through the clearing and suddenly the woods around them were alive with movement. Bug Pokemon and bird Pokemon poured from every tree and other forest dwelling Pokemon showed themselves and began moving. All of them were following Rayquaza and Darkrai.

A rather large Ariados dropped from the tree that Team Rocket were sitting on and dislodged them from their perch where they landed on a line of Diglett and Dugtrio that were moving with the herd.

"Well, dis sure is a way to travel." Meowth grinned putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. James grinned as well and similarly laid down. Jessie was the only one not prepared to sit back and enjoy the ride.

"What are you two doing?" She yelled pointing back towards the clearing. "This is the perfect time to go back there and steal Pikachu!"

"Relax Jessie. You know as well as I do that the twerps aren't going to just ignore this. They'll follow the Pokemon themselves. If we just wait here, they'll come to us." James grinned. Jessie's eye twitched ready to verbally abuse James but she was unable to form any sort of argument. This, she realised as she sat down, is why the only thing worse than James being too stupid, is when he's being too smart. But another thought flashed after it that made slightly uneasy.

The legendaries are on the move then. Something bad is coming.

* * *

Queen Ashelia B'nargan Dalmasca was rudely awakened by Penelo running into her room shouting for her to get up. Ashe groaned and turned over pulling the blankets back over her head. Penelo ran over to the window blinds and pulled them open. The sunlight cut a perfect beam straight into Ashe's face. She groaned again in frustration before opening her eyes.

"Penelo, there had better be a _very_ good reason for this." Ashe growled throwing the blankets off her bed and sitting up.

"Yeah, there's a good reason." Said Vaan as he walked casually into the room, eating an apple.

"Vaan!" Penelo yelled, "How can you be so relaxed with everything that's going on?" Ashe could have sworn that she could see the steam coming out of Penelo's ears. Then she turned to the two of them.

"Would someone please tell what is so strangely catastrophic?" she yelled over the two quarrelling teenagers. "And Vaan, you are in my bedroom and I am not yet dressed. So would you kindly get out!" Vaan turned an impressive shade of red as he finally realised that he was indeed in Ashe's bedroom while she was wearing a _very_ revealing nightdress. He backed sheepishly out of the room and shut the door after him.

Ashe groaned as she stretched out the kinks of the night and walked over to the window that Penelo was still looking out of with an expression of shocked disbelief.

"Now, what is this all about?" Ashe asked. In response, Penelo merely pointed out into the city. With a slight sigh at Penelo's behaviour Ashe looked out into the city. It was still early morning and the streets were quiet. A few of the early risers were out at the Muthru Bazaar in an attempt to pick up some good early bargains. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Ashe sighed again.

"Penelo, what am I meant to be seeing?"

"It's more what you're not seeing Ashe." Ashe suppressed a snarl of frustration at these silly games and had another look. The square was still there, the clan halls, the four gates were still there. Everything was still there, then she looked outside of the city gates and saw what wasn't there.

"Penelo," Ashe said, trying to keep her voice completely level, "Where's the Bahamut gone?"

Two hours later, Ashe, Vaan and Penelo were sitting in the giant meeting hall of Rabanastre Castle awaiting the arrival of other representatives from around the world. The apparent theft of the world's largest and so far only superweapon was a cause for great concern and multiple dignitaries were inbound in order to discuss the matter.

"Announcing his Excellency, Emperor Larsa of Archadia." The herald shouted from outside the double doors as they swung inwards. Larsa walked in calmly trying to maintain the professional exterior he had been taught. Just behind him walked Basch, in the guise of Judge Gabranth. Penelo curtsied to the both of them as they stood in front of the queen but Vaan was not so subtle.

"Hey Basch! Man, it's been ages." Vaan punched the man in the shoulder and winced as his fist hit solid plate armour. The featureless helmet of Gabranth turned to Vaan and regarded him silently.

"Vaan, I cannot go by that name. Not while I wear this armour." Basch said calmly and with a hint of suppressed threat. Vaan got the message and settled for merely bowing to Larsa who returned the gesture.

"The regent of Rozzaria, the right honourable Al-Cid Margrace." The doors swung open again and Al-Cid sauntered in surrounded by his ladies-in-waiting. Penelo was only one who noticed Ashe's lips thinning almost imperceptibly. Al-Cid walked straight up to Ashe ignoring the other four and knelt. With completely unnecessary extravagance, he planted a kiss on the back of her hand. Ashe forced herself into a smile and bade him stand. With untold volumes spoken between the two, Al-Cid moved to take his place.

Over the next fifteen minutes, multiple other dignitaries arrived, the Marquis Ondore was one of the more notable ones but there were multiple delegates from other individual provinces. The congregation had sat in silence for a few seconds when the door burst open suddenly and Rikken the pirate rushed in followed by Elza and Raz. With Reddas' death, Rikken had been elected leader of Balfonheim purely because no-one else really wanted the job. He had made an effort to look official, but considering he was just wearing his normal attire with the addition of a necktie, the effect was lost somewhat.

"Sorry." He mumbled as he tried to walk nonchalantly to his seat and sit down. The delegate next to him gave him a look of revulsion and scooted his seat away. There was only one empty seat remaining but it belonged to the high chief of the Garif who would be unable to attend due to the fact that the Garif did not posses airships. Now that the entire company had been assembled, Ashe official began the proceedings.

"Gentlemen, and ladies," she said looking at the few women who were present "when I woke up this morning, the Sky Fortress Bahamut, which has been crashed outside Rabanastre for three years, was gone. I must confess I am puzzled as to how any sort of construction team could move the fortress not only in the timeframe of one night, but also without waking up any single resident of the city." Ashe would have gone on but she was interrupted by multiple cries of outrage. Every single nation there denied any involvement with the theft of the Bahamut. Ashe silenced them all with a wave of her hand.

"Gentlemen, I wish to make no accusations. But that fact of the matter is this. Aside from Jahara as War-Chief Supinelu cannot be with us, every square centimetre of Ivalice is accounted for in this room, there is nowhere that does not fall outside our combined jurisdiction, so it seems quite clear to me that one or more of you is lying to me. All I want to know gentlemen, is where the Bahamut is."

"I think I can help with that question Princess." Said a voice from the back of the room. Every head shot up and turned in that direction. Vaan grinned manically when he saw the voice's owner and Penelo had to quickly stifle a squeal of delight. The speaker stepped into the room with his companion close behind and extended a hand out to Ashe even though she was all the way at the other end of the table.

"Follow me if you want to learn the truth." Said Balthier. And with that, he turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Thanks very much for reading part three. Don't forget to R+R and tune back in for part 4.


	4. Welcome Home

Creation and Destruction: A X-overs Fanfiction

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Characters involved are the legal property of their respective owners, not me.

* * *

Chapter 4: Welcome Home

Three years ago, a galaxy spanning sports corporation had organised and run a multi-million dollar fighting tournament for only the best and greatest fighters in the galaxy. The competition was known as the Super Smash Brothers Tournament. The first tournament only had twelve participants but it easily broke every single record for viewing figures on any channel for the last two centuries. The tournament was an instant success and the title fight between Mario of the Mushroom kingdom and Link from the kingdom of Hyrule was watched by over 30 billion people. There was no doubt in people's minds that there was going to be a sequel. And they were proved right. But before the sequel was announced, the executives of the company had spent a large sum of the profits from the last tournament purchasing a large asteroid in a remote sector of the galaxy and terraforming it. On the resulting small planet, the Super Smash Brothers Mansion was built. The mansion was a massive publicity stunt, the premise behind it being that spin-off shows aired on the sports channel would allow fans to see the inside rivalries and alliances that built up behind the scenes and they could pay a small subscription fee to have access to the strategically placed cameras that caught every room in the mansion. Even before the tournament had been announced, reserve places on the Smasheye service (as it was christened) meant that the second tournament had already made more money than the first. The second tournament itself, entitled Super Smash Brothers: The Melee was everything the fans expected it to be. All twelve fighters from the previous season returned in order to have another attempt at the title, and thirteen more fighters had joined the ranks. The tournament was an unprecedented success, eclipsing all other channels. In fact most of the other channels refused to show anything at the same time as a tournament fight because of the massive loss of revenue that they would suffer. The second tournament had been the biggest sporting event in history and people were still anxious for the third instalment.

But things started to go downhill after that. Several fighters left after the second tournament after confrontations about the lack of privacy that was a result of the Smasheye service. Five left outright never to return and the other twenty said that they wouldn't return unless the service was discontinued. The company had a lot of money invested in the service and refused the fighter's demands. All twenty five fighters left the industry and fans everywhere dismayed that this move spelt the end for the tournament.

But there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Another company purchased the title deeds for the mansion and the rights to the name Super Smash Brothers. They ripped out every single camera in the mansion and managed to convince many of the fighters to return for a third competition. In order to draw the fans back, even more fighters were drafted into the ranks of Smash Brothers, including the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake. The number of Smash Brothers now totalled thirty-five and the third tournament, entitled Super Smash Brothers: The Brawl aired five years after the second. It wasn't a huge success as the faith of the fans had been shaken but the smash Brothers involved saw the changes made to the mansion and approved. They fought harder as a result and, as their every move was no longer being recorded, many of them became firm friends, promising that they would always be around to help each other out.

Lucario really needed that help now.

* * *

The portal Lucario had opened back in the crystal's cavern opened up again just above the tiled path that led up to the mansion. Lucario exited the portal and landed lightly on the path as the portal closed behind him. Shaking his head to rid himself of the after-effects of inter-dimensional travel, Lucario straightened up and looked at the mansion.

The mansion was easily 100 foot tall and comprised of four above ground floors and an extensive basement for late-night training. It was a glaring white that reflected this system's sun like a beacon. However, it was night now and the air was still. The mansion looked ominous and above all else, empty. Lucario had doubted that anyone would still live here, all of the fighters had worlds of their own to live on. The Pokemon still walked forwards towards the mansion, treading lightly on the cracked flagstones and the weeds that sprouted from between stones. Even if no-one was around, he might be able to use the mansion's master computer to track some of them down. Lucario reached up to touch the overly ornate and elaborate door handle and let himself inside when something barrelled into his side and knocked him to the ground.

With a growl at his opponent and an internal curse at letting himself be caught off guard, Lucario handsprang to his feet, catching his opponent in the chest and sending them crashing backwards into one of the pillars that dotted the front porch. The figure crashed through the pillar with a splintering of marble and a digitised shriek.

"Guard Robot!" thought Lucario as he pressed his advantage. His charged up an Aura Sphere and hurled it at the motionless figure lying in the dust cloud that had once been a support pillar. The Aura Sphere shot forwards before it was encompassed by the dust. Two seconds later, the Aura Sphere came rocketing out of the dust towards Lucario, catching him in the face and throwing him backwards. Lucario landed heavily on his back and rolled out of the way as the robot crashed into the floor where he had been lying. Its afterburners were on full blast and the wooden decking of the porch splintered and scorched under the heat. Lucario got to his feet as a metal arm swung round. Lucario caught it in one hand, wincing slightly at the impact but he managed to restrain his outburst and open palmed the robot in the chest. The robot shuddered under the impact but wasn't thrown backwards. The robot lowered its gaze and fired a concentrated laser beam at Lucario's head.

Lucario let the robot's arm go as he scrambled backwards out of the beam's path. With a growl, he looked upwards at the robot which was adjusting its aim. In the darkness of night, it took Lucario a few seconds to work out what he was looking at.

"R.O.B.?" Lucario yelled. The robot was covered in dust and its chest plate was dented from Lucario's attack but it was definitely the robot that Lucario had fought against in the third tournament. R.O.B. gave no indication that he had heard and fired another laser beam in Lucario's direction. Lucario ducked under the beam and sped towards R.O.B charging up a small Aura Sphere as he did. The tiny sphere slipped under R.OB.'s guard and hit the robot in the eye. The diode inside fizzed and crackled before dying completely. Lucario had learned from his training bouts with R.O.B in the mansion that the robot's targeting optics were located just behind its eyes. By taking out the targeting systems, Lucario had removed R.O.B's laser. Now blind, R.O.B. swung its arms around their central axis in a vain attempt to hit it's attacker. The attempt was in vain as Lucario easily leapt over the clumsy attack and landed on R.O.B's head.

"Listen R.O.B. It's me Lucario, don't tell me you've forgotten me after all this time?" Lucario yelled over the frantic screeching of R.O.B as he tried to dislodge the Pokemon from his head. This time, R.O.B seemed to hear Lucario and slowly calmed down. When the spinning robot had stopped, Lucario hopped off R.O.B's head, holding his stomach in order to quell the dizziness. After the sensation had abated, Lucario turned to R.O.B. who was trying to scan Lucario with one eye.

"Sorry about the eye." Lucario apologised. R.O.B.s arms moved up and down slightly in his own equivalent of a shrug and the robot turned away, moving silently on his jets into the mansion. Lucario followed silently as the robot hovered silently down corridor after corridor, the light from his single eye illuminating the path ahead. Eventually, the robot stopped outside a door and gestured towards it. Lucario gave R.O.B a sidelong glance as he entered the door.

The opposite wall was covered with monitors, all of them showing a different room of the mansion. Lucario noted with a passing interest that one of them showed the porch where he and R.O.B had fought. Anyone watching that screen would have seen the fight. In front of the wall was a large backed leather chair. It was facing the wall and Lucario couldn't tell if it was occupied. But he soon found out that it was when a voice spoke from the direction of the chair. The voice was old and weary.

"I saw the fight." It said, with a hint of a smile. "I could have interfered when you first landed but I figured I would let R.O.B. test you after all this time. Your skills seem to have improved remarkably considering that you're meant to be dead." Lucario's mouth fell open. He should have known that his death would have been public news. The other three were from places where they wouldn't be missed but Lucario had been a celebrity.

"That's why R.O.B. attacked me. He thought he was fighting a ghost." Lucario said, voice filling with understanding.

"Or a very clever impostor," The voice said. "I for one would like to know which."

"Why don't you face me and decide for yourself?" Lucario growled, he was getting tired of talking to a voice in the dark. The chair swivelled round to allow the occupant to look down at Lucario. Although Mr Game and Watch had no physical features that Lucario could see, the old Smash Brother seemed to be glaring at him carefully.

"You aren't an imposter. I can tell that much." Game and Watch said, hopping down from the chair. Lucario walked towards him and looked up at the wall of monitors.

"This is the Smasheye service isn't it?" Lucario said, gesturing to the wall. Game and Watch nodded and began to explain even without prompting.

"There won't be a fourth tournament. Too many fans lost faith after we walked out following Melee. Brawl was our swansong. Everyone's gone back to their own worlds, everyone except me and R.O.B. We've got nowhere to go. I'm too old to go back to my home now. R.O.B. offered to stay and help me look after the place. I figured that with only two of us, we'd need a security system, so I rebuilt the Smasheye system. If anyone ever needed help from the Smash Brothers, they'd come here first. That's just logic, isn't it? So, I decided I'd become a sort of caretaker. But enough about me, What's the problem that you've got? What's the disaster that's so large it calls for Lucario to come back from the dead to find help?" Game and Watch asked, turning to Lucario.

"The end of the world is coming, elder." Lucario said, referring to Game and Watch by his honorific title. "I was reborn in order to ensure the cycle of universal death and rebirth continues. But, the system is flawed I think. There are four of us, and we have all agreed to break the cycle if we must. But, we cannot do it alone."

"So you need the aid of the Super Smash Brothers." Game and Watch said turning away and walking over to an ancient computer terminal in the wall. "We are scattered far and wide. It will take time, but I think I can help." The computer terminal booted up and began to display what looked like a star chart.

"This chart shows the location of all of the worlds on which we live. If I give you the co-ordinates, can you teleport there? It's all I can do I'm afraid. R.O.B. would go with you to help, but he needs repairs after your little confrontation. No don't apologise. He will be ready when you go to face this foe, and so will I. But for now, we'll make this place ready for whoever you find on your travels." Game and Watch said pointing to a few planets and enlarging them. Lucario held out a paw as he saw one with an easy set of co-ordinates. Lucario closed his eyes and repeated the co-ordinates in his head. Then he moved his hand in a circle and a portal appeared. A blast of frigid wind blew through the portal chilling Lucario to the bone. He could see an ice coated peak in the background and polar bears prowling along the icy walkways. Condors circled the summit like a blackened halo. Icicle mountain. Steeling himself against the cold, Lucario leapt through the portal.

* * *

The Floating Island is a serene haven of nature. At least that is the opinion of anyone who's ever set foot on it. The surly temper of the Island's guardian meant that very few people are ever allowed such a privilege. Only a select few are allowed onto the island, and even fewer are allowed to live there. But one of the Island's inhabitants lives there, not by choice, but because he has nowhere else to go.

Silver the Hedgehog sat on the edge of the island gazing solemnly down at the sea several hundred miles below. Knuckles was currently trying to steer the island south for the winter and trying to stay out of commercial and military flight paths was apparently a delicate process. One which would often keep Knuckles awake all night. Silver also tried to stay awake most nights if he had the mental strength to do so. If he ever fell asleep then the dreams would come and haunt him until he awoke. Every time he slept he could see her. If it wasn't the moment when she died, then it was just memories of the fun they'd had together. Silver couldn't decide which of the two was worse to remember. All he knew was that when he awoke, it would bring back the realisation that Blaze was dead. That's why Silver sat up most nights, trying to stay awake.

It was two in the morning and Silver had taken to dropping pebbles over the edge. His psychically enhanced hearing tried to pick up the tiny splashes made when they hit the sea but rarely did they hear anything. Pick, drop, listen. Pick, drop, listen.

As Silver reached out for another pebble, his ears pricked as he heard a slight rustle in the leaves behind him. With an almost audible sound, Silver's head whipped around just in time to see three leaves move back into place. Cautiously, activating the psychic rings in his gloves, Silver stood up and crept over to the bush. There was no one there. Cursing himself for being so foolish, Silver turned and went to sit down again when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. A silvery glow was hanging in midair between two trees. Silver didn't know how he knew, but he couldn't help but feel that the glow was looking at him.

"Hello?" Silver called. The glow suddenly turned and sped away between the trees. Driven by curiosity, Silver followed it. The glow flew between trees and around creepers. Silver knocked away obstacles and occasionally blasted a vine or a tree root with a psychic blast in his attempt to follow it. Eventually Silver emerged in a clearing. Bamboo trees enclosed the entire clearing and the glow stopped in the middle. Silver forced his way between the shoots and stared the glow down.

"What are you?" Silver asked, glaring at the glow. In response, the glow started to morph and twist. As it did, Silver began to feel slightly nervous. Maybe he had done something very foolish, coming here without Knuckles or one of the Chaotix. The glow was still changing, and Silver could see what it was turning into now.

With a cry, Silver backed towards the ring of Bamboo and frantically scrabbled at it, trying to get away before the transformation was complete. But his fear made it impossible. The glow finished its transformation and the image of Blaze, composed of millions of silvery specks walked towards him. Silver had stopped trying to escape now and was curled up on the ground crying. The image of Blaze knelt down and wrapped it's wraith-like arms around the tiny hedgehog. Silver weakly tried to resist, but was overcome with emotion and eventually collapsed against the image sobbing. Once Silver had finished crying, he looked up into the silvery face of Blaze.

"Blaze?" Silver choked through the tears.

"I came back for you Silver." Blaze smiled down at him. "I couldn't leave alone could I? Who'd look after you?" Tears were starting to fall down her own face as she continued to hold Silver.

"But, you're all silvery. Are you a…ghost?" Silver asked. The tears were starting to dry up and were being replaced by a overwhelming sense of joy.

"No. I was reborn, because I died so that you could live. I'm trying to come back to Mobius but the chaos field is too strong around the planet. It's keeping me out. I need something like a Chaos Emerald to help cross back over." Blaze said looking around at the island. Without a word, Silver reached into one of his quills and pulled out the dark blue Chaos Emerald that had been hidden there. Silently, he handed it to Blaze.

"You kept it?" Blaze asked amazed. Silver nodded.

"You gave it to me. How could I ever let it go?" Silver replied as Blaze grasped the emerald in her insubstantial hands. As soon as she held it tightly, the emerald began to glow, softly, at first but then brighter and brighter. As it grew brighter, Blaze began to fill in. The view of the trees that could be seen through Blaze's outlined form became obscured as flesh and bone passed through the dimensional gap and allowed Blaze to take her own form. When it was finished, Blaze dropped the emerald and collapsed to the ground. Silver ran forwards and caught her in his arms at the last moment. Blaze looked up at him and smiled. Silver looked down at her and as she looked into his eyes, Blaze remembered the true reason why she had returned.

"Welcome home." Silver grinned. Blaze grinned too. Then, they kissed. It last only a few seconds but between them, it could have lasted a lifetime.

"Silver, I'm glad I'm back." Blaze said. It sounded corny with hindsight, but with her head so confused, it was all she could say. Silver seemed to realise this and just nodded. Without another word between the two of them, Silver picked Blaze up like a husband carrying a bride over the threshold and, slowly and deliberately, he walked back through the forest towards Knuckles' house.

* * *

Thanks for reading Chapter 4. Sorry if my mushy love scenes don't come out so well, they are not my forte. If anyone is interested in helping me write better love scenes or fight scenes, then please drop me a line at my Email. In the meantime, don't forget to R+R


	5. The Third Reunion

Creation and Destruction: A X-overs Fanfiction

* * *

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Characters involved are the legal property of their respective owners, not me.

* * *

Chapter 5: The third Reunion

Warmth. There hadn't been enough warmth in his life lately. In fact, had there ever been any warmth? Now that he came to think about it, he couldn't remember a time when he had ever been warm. All he had ever been was cold, hard and calculating. A perfect killer. Perfect killer? Where had that come from? That was an odd analogy. He didn't dwell on it. He just let the thoughts and memories come back through his consciousness.

He had been a killer. The memory drifted through the warm haze that was encircling his mind. He couldn't remember why, nor who he had killed. He didn't worry about it. Drifting like this, in this blissful haze, worry just seemed to evaporate.

He had killed in order to find someone. His brow furrowed and he scowled behind closed eyes. He was trying to relax in this calm place, but the thought kept niggling away at the back of his brain. He had killed to find someone, and despite all of the killing, he hadn't found her.

No. He had found her. But then she had been taken away. Killed by the traitor's hands. Mental images started to accompany the thoughts as more and more memories returned to him. He had murdered his way to her, and in the moment of their reunion, he had been struck down by the traitor. The traitor's face flickered in front of his inner eye. A tall man with spiky blonde hair.

Cloud.

Sephiroth opened his eyes and saw a sight that was becoming irritatingly familiar. In front, behind, indeed all around him was the pale green hue of the Lifestream. Sitting upright in the flow, Sephiroth tried to remember how he had died _this_ time. It had been Cloud, Sephiroth remembered that much. But there had been others as well, and not just Cloud's AVALANCHE cronies. There had been a group of people on his side. Sephiroth chuckled at that thought; no-one had ever been on his side before. Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz. Yes, that had been their names. Kadaj had even sacrificed himself in order to channel Sephiroth's spirit into the world. But Cloud had shown up and sent him right back into the Lifestream. Sephiroth scowled at the memory of the pain. All of Cloud's swords piercing his body, ripping his spirit from Kadaj's shell. Instinctively, he looked down at himself but he was not wounded. His clothes weren't even torn and the masamune was still in its sheath on his belt. Sephiroth withdrew it slowly. It made a low ringing sound as it exited the sheath. Lovingly, Sephiroth ran one thumb down the blade marvelling at the way that the long wound that it inflicted healed up almost immediately in the Lifestream. The fact that it did was probably the only reason why he retained his weapon in the Lifestream, how ironic. This weapon had sent so many others to the Lifestream and now that it was here itself, it could do no more damage.

Sephiroth sat almost motionless for over a day, thinking about his predicament. The flower girl had proved to be able to meddle from beyond the grave and had eradicated the last remnants of Jenova from the Lifestream. All Sephiroth had to return for now, was revenge. Revenge against the failed experiment that had sent him here. Sephiroth was so deep in his brooding that he almost didn't sense the presence behind him.

In one swift movement, Sephiroth stood up, span round and swung the masamune, which was levelled at head height. The blade never connected with his foe. The stranger was a man with white hair. He was wearing a purple cloak and white gloves which became sleeves. He was wearing a curious armour arrangement on the rest of his body that left his stomach exposed. He was holding out a hand which had stopped the masamune and Sephiroth guessed that he was using magic by the multitude of coloured sparks that emitted from where hand met sword. The stranger gently pushed the sword down and held out a hand. Sephiroth ignored it and glared at the newcomer until the hand was withdrawn.

"Who are you?" Sephiroth asked, still glaring at the man.

"My name is Kuja. Pleased to meet you Sephiroth." The man said elegantly. His voice was strange. It seemed to Sephiroth like there was some sort of power in it but he couldn't place it. Sephiroth was less surprised than he thought he would be by the fact that the man knew his name.

"You must want something from me. Otherwise you wouldn't risk your life by approaching me, especially since you know who I am." Sephiroth said levelly. Kuja laughed and swept a hand around indicating the swirling mass of Lifestream around them.

"We're in the Lifestream Sephiroth. I'm not risking my life. I'm already dead. As are you. You couldn't kill me even if you wanted to."

"Then why have you come here to waste my time? You cannot resurrect me or you would have already resurrected yourself. You have nothing to offer me." Sephiroth growled. He vaguely recalled being hounded to help other people out when he was a member of SOLDIER. He'd been sick of it when he was alive and wasn't about to change his opinion now that he was dead. Sephiroth sheathed the masamune and began to walk away.

"What if I could offer you revenge?" Kuja's voice called after him. Sephiroth stopped and half turned. Kuja went on. "Let me guess. Once upon a time, there were 8 pathetic individuals that it wasn't even worth your time to kill. But somehow they rose up, and against all the odds, they managed to kill you." Kuja said. He had one hand on his forehand and was holding the other out in front of him, trying to look like he was reading Sephiroth's mind. It was an obviously fake act and that fact disturbed Sephiroth, especially since Kuja was getting it right.

"How do you know about my life?" Sephiroth half yelled. Kuja was keeping something from him and that angered Sephiroth.

"Your life? I was talking about my own." Kuja responded, with an air of hurt about him. Then his mood brightened. "You didn't think that you were the only person whose right to rule the planet had been cheated by a group of nothings did you?" Sephiroth found himself unable to respond and instead he just growled for Kuja to continue.

"Let me just put it this way. We, and yes, there's more than just me, have found a way out. A special place, where the walls between the Lifestream and the world of the living are very thin. However, we need a bit of "muscle" in order to overpower the guards around the area. That's where you come in." Kuja grinned and held his hand out again.

"And in exchange for helping you, I can travel to my own Planet and destroy the traitor?" Sephiroth asked.

"General, once we're out of this place, you can do whatever the hell you like." Kuja grinned. Sephiroth smirked in response and grabbed Kuja's hand. As they shook, Sephiroth felt some sort of tingling, as though magic was taking place, but he ignored it. He would ignore anything for a chance to kill Cloud once and for all. When they let go, Kuja smiled.

"That's settled then. Now come on, let's go meet the team."

* * *

There are many places in the Universe that exist outside of normal space. The resting place of the crystal is one of them. The Time before the Beginning and Time after the End are two others and another one is Castle Oblivion.

One the top floor of Castle Oblivion, a dark portal opened and Axel staggered out, a Neoshadow Heartless followed him and Axel fell backwards, throwing a chakram at it. The blades of the weapon impaled the Heartless through the heart and it exploded into millions of dark fragments. Panting, Axel closed the portal and stood up, throwing the burden he had been carrying to the floor. He had just been into the depths of the Heartless City in order to retrieve it and he desperately hoped that the risk would be worth it. The bundle opened as it hit the ground and spilled its contents. Eleven cloaks identical to the one Axel wore himself. Axel grabbed them and threw them into a corner as he looked around the empty space. The top room was massive, the walls and floor still bore the gouges and scorch marks of Sora's battle with Marluxia over two years ago. Axel grinned as he walked up to the table where Namine had once performed her reconstructive work on Sora's memories and incinerated it with a burst of flame. With one last look, Axel opened up a portal and disappeared into it.

A few minutes later, Axel portalled back into the room carrying a second load. This time, he was carrying multiple pieces of machinery and metal and he had a rolled up blueprint under one arm. Setting the machinery down with more care than he had the cloaks, Axel placed the blueprints down on the floor and unrolled them. He had been to Destiny Islands but had realized his mistake in looking for aid from Sora, Riku and Kairi. He had a better plan.

The machine detailed in the blueprints was huge, which was the main reason why Axel had picked the top room of the castle in which to build it. The machine consisted of eleven chambers, each one big enough to hold a person, connected by a large tube to a central chamber where, if Axel got the calculations right, he could open a way to the realm of darkness and go "fishing for hearts." That would allow the eleven cloaks on the floor to hold their rightful occupants once more. In fact, it would allow them to become more than they were when they had last worn them. Axel put down the blueprints and picked up a spanner from the mechanical pile. He picked a likely corner and began construction work. It would take a while, but it should be worth it. After the machine was completed and activated, Organization XIII would be back up to twelve members. But he needed all thirteen for his plan which meant he had to try and get in contact with Roxas. Axel started thinking about ways to contact the thirteenth Nobody as he worked.

As it turned out, he didn't need to think of a way. Sometimes, fate will provide.

* * *

Sora had usually slept soundly every night after returning to Destiny Islands. His parents, despite being concerned about his absence seemed able to accept his status as a defender of worlds. Sora was slightly unnerved by their readiness to accept that he had to risk his life on multiple occasions but he realised that they were ready to believe anything after their world had been lost to the Darkness. Seeing the potential danger of the Heartless first hand was enough to convince people to believe a lot of things. Similarly, Kairi's family had accepted their daughter's new found status with only slight apprehension about the well-being of their daughter. Riku's parents were an unusual case. After Destiny Islands had been swallowed by the darkness, Riku's parents had been some of the few people from the Islands to make it to Traverse Town and, once the Heartless and Maleficent had been defeated and Leon and his friends had moved back to Hollow Bastion, Riku's parents had opted to remain in Traverse Town and act as mayor and mayoress. Riku had been offered to stay with them but seeing the damage the Heartless could do, and bearing the darkness of their leader inside him, Riku felt that he couldn't face the occupants of Traverse Town and he had a deep longing for his home. So Riku lived on his own in his parents old house giving him complete freedom of when he left on excursions to other worlds.

Sora and Kairi's parents had also been fairly accepting of the even more strange events of their children sharing bodies with other people, namely Roxas and Namine. Sora suspected that they didn't quite understand the relationship between him and Roxas and probably thought that their son was going slightly crazy, but that didn't worry Sora. What did worry Sora was the dream he had had last night.

Sora had been told about his adventures in Castle Oblivion by Namine after they had returned to the islands. And, although Sora couldn't remember the Castle itself, he trusted Namine to be telling the truth, and Riku corroborated Namine's story. Thus Sora found it odd that he had dreamt about the Castle. Roxas had told Sora that when they had been separated Roxas would often dream of Sora and this was a subconscious desire to meet his other. Maybe dreaming about Castle Oblivion was a subconscious message to go to the Castle. That was why Sora, Kairi and Riku were, after a brief discussion on the beach that morning were now sitting in Sora's gummi ship, heading for Castle Oblivion. Sora had always been able to convince the other two to go along with his plans and so they agreed to skip school just for today to go and check the castle out. Kairi had currently swapped bodies with Namine who was the only one who could actually navigate her way to the Castle. There was no danger of being attacked in transit, after the Organization had been disbanded the number of Heartless and Nobody ships had dropped to almost nothing. Sora put his hands behind his head and leaned back to watch the stars go past. He turned to look at Riku and saw the older boy tightening his gloves and taking practice swings with his Keyblade.

"Riku. What _are_ you doing?" Sora asked, turning and looking at Riku over the back of his seat.

"Getting prepared, what does it look like?" Riku said sarcastically, thrusting at the air with Way to Dawn. "I know you trust your dreams. But I'm not so sure that this isn't a trap. Remember Sora, the last time you trusted one of your hunches, somebody screwed with your memories, you ended up sleeping for a year and letting the Heartless back into the worlds. No offence Namine." He added.

"None taken." Namine said cheerfully before turning to Sora. "We just received a reply from King Mickey. He said that he agrees with you that might be a trick so he, Donald and Goofy will meet us there." She giggled as Sora turned back to Riku with a superior smirk on his face. Riku grimaced at the fact that Sora had been one step ahead of him again.

"I called him before we took off." Sora grinned widely, like the Cheshire Cat he had met on his first adventure. The remainder of the flight passed uneventfully, aside from Roxas switching with Sora in order to spar with Riku. Roxas had Riku on the ropes when Namine pulled the Gummi ship into the Castle with an emergency stop which threw both boys into the windscreen.

"Look's like the King's already here." Kairi pointed out as the three got off the ship. Almost immediately, Sora disappeared until a laughing pile of Donald and Goofy. The king managed to retain some dignity by merely shaking Riku's hand despite his joy at seeing the silver haired Keybearer again. He bowed to Kairi who curtsied back. He went to shake Sora's hand but the boy grabbed the mouse around the waist and proceeded to give the king of Disney Castle a noogie.

"Hey, Cut it out Sora!" Mickey yelled, squirming out of the boy's grasp. He landed on the ground amidst raucous laughter, straightened his clothes, summoned his Keyblade and pushed open the main doors.

* * *

"O.k. Sora, now you've got to admit that this looks like a wasted trip." Riku said as the group ascended the final flight of stairs. "We've been through the entire Castle and all we found are a few measly Heartless." Sora said nothing and just glared straight ahead at the doors which had led to Marluxia's final chamber. He tried to put on a sincere smile as he walked confidently up to the door and addressed the other five.

"Trust me. Behind this door we'll find the grand prize." With a flourish, he pushed open the door. Behind it, Axel stopped screwing a glass panel in place and turned around.

"Oh Hey Roxas!"

* * *

Thanks for reading Chapter 5. If you think the story's any good please feel free to drop me a review. It makes it a lot easier to find the motivation to write another chapter when you review. Thanks in advance.


End file.
